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Bronze Member Username: ElevenPittsburgh, PA USA Post Number: 46 Registered: Nov-06 | I'm considering this $229 Boy Wonder... Has anyone heard this machine playing CDs? SACDs? Any sense if it is decent for music, including multichannel? |
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Bronze Member Username: LeonskiPost Number: 47 Registered: Jan-07 | You are in the same boat as me. And the same question: Is there a single player for both Audio and Video that works well for both? Will a DVD player do justice to CDs? Can you get away with one player? While my current extra-cheapo Go-Video CD-DVD/VCR does OK with video @480p, the audio is awful, even to my ears. The one DV-981 review I have read says 'good video' but only OK audio. If I can find it again, I'll post the link. That is the only reason I haven't hit up my banker for one. This player, or one like it, will bridge me to the end of the 'format' war over HD...............and NO, the 1300clam LG player is not an option....I stopped reading the review well before the reviewer rendered the audio verdict. |
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Bronze Member Username: LeonskiPost Number: 48 Registered: Jan-07 | http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=2327 Here is link to DV-981 review.....not bad! |
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Gold Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 4356 Registered: Feb-05 | "Will a DVD player do justice to CDs?" No. That same question has been answered many times on this forum and mostly with the same answer. |
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Bronze Member Username: LeonskiPost Number: 49 Registered: Jan-07 | Art, the state of the art, if you'll pardon the expression is always improving. What was best yesterday is off the charts today. I saw a posting where someone speculated that due to the technical differences between HD and BlueRay, no combo player was feasible. But there is the LG. So while I can't beef that a player will be optomized for one or the other, and may always be so, the limits may be so high as to not matter except to the 'golden eared'. The OPPO isn't the final answer, but considering the really good video performance, people like myself with only room for one disk player, could possibly compromise with this player. As much as I'd like a player for each, space and bucks won't allow. As I looked at CD player reviews here in Ecoustics, I also noted that there were few reviews from '06, and none so far from '07. The number of reviews seemed to peak between '98 and '02. As editorial interest in CD only players wanes, attention goes to the combo players. At that point you will be able to audition such equipment not at the local 'audiomart' but have to go a little (or a LOT) further to a dedicated store where they listen lots, have the best (priciest) equipment and charge accoringly. I think that this question should be asked periodically since the answer changes and may eventually be......'player X is superb for all audio and vidio uses and formats'..... I can hardly wait, especially if regular people can actually afford it! |
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Gold Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 4366 Registered: Feb-05 | 'So while I can't beef that a player will be optomized for one or the other, and may always be so, the limits may be so high as to not matter except to the 'golden eared'." We had some other folks here who said the same things about universal players and cables, one of them now owns the Rega Apollo and the other just replaced his cables, guess they now have "golden ears". I appreciate your point though Leo. |
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Bronze Member Username: LeonskiPost Number: 50 Registered: Jan-07 | I suspect golden wallets. I spent all of 37$ US (w/shipping) on a pair of 10ga. Belden-wired speaker cables w/Canares gold expanding banana plugs. I'd love to double blind A-B them with 'the high priced spread' and see if anyone can really tell! Seriously though, I do believe that 'cost no object' electonics is better performing, and by measurement, too. However, as in anything else, the curve flattens at the top. Choose your own 'value' level. Is the 70,000$ Mercedes really 2x better than the 35,000$ Infinity which in turn is or is not 2x better than a 18,000$ Civic? For some YES and for others NO. So, while current issue of equipment is better and more affordable than last, just wait till NEXT YEAR! To get back to the original posting, does anyone disagree with the OPPO being a lotta bang for the buck? |
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Gold Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 4368 Registered: Feb-05 | You made an assumption that you shouldn't have. The cables my friend bought were Blue Jeans, very inexpensive. The Oppo has fabulous video quality for the buck but no more than average sound quality. It represents a good value but if music is more important than video look elsewhere. |
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Bronze Member Username: LeonskiPost Number: 51 Registered: Jan-07 | OOOPS! right you are! and as it turns out, I, too, did the Blue Jeans thing. 20' of cable, 4 pair of banana plugs and an hour of assembly. How could you go wrong? Based on your evaluation, I'd say that I am 80% video and 20% audio. When I want music, I am as likely to put on the XM over the small dish satellite as drop in a CD. NOW....3 choices:: Put up with what I got? OR Purchase now, probably the OPPO? OR Wait some more and see if the capability/cost curve tilts more in my favor! #1 is a non-starter sinc it sounds BAD even to my average ears. The advantage of #2 is the really good upsampling capability which will 'bridge' me to one of the HD formats. I think you know which way this is heading! Your 2 sentence review of the OPPO ices it. Why can't paid reviewers be that concise? (another thread??) |
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Gold Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 4377 Registered: Feb-05 | This "golden eared" audiophile is as likely to be caught listening to my XM radio through my system as my Apollo. Not because it sounds good but because I learn about new music that way and, well, it's fun listening. We have more in common than we have differences...enjoy the Oppo. My friend who sells them likes the video capabilities of the Oppo better than the NAD's he sells. |
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Silver Member Username: WestcottLeague City, Texas Post Number: 190 Registered: Oct-05 | I will wait until Secrets of Home Theater evaluate the new Oppo. No other site seems to know how to evaluate a DVD player with the proper equipment or technical prowess. From there track record, it is a pretty safe gamble. They have been known to do some quirky things like not support 480p via component output but that may or may not affect some people. Any CD player will perform admirably using digital connections. If you are using analog, well, that is a different story and the DAC in most low cost CD players is not going to hack it for analog lovers. |
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Silver Member Username: Uback007Columbus , Ohio USA Post Number: 210 Registered: Mar-06 | I really like the 540D Cambridge DVD player (hush Stu Pitt- inside joke)- I actually got it off of Audiogon for $175 pre-owned. Great sounding and looking player. They have discontinued producing them as this unit does not have HDMI, but for 2-channel audio, I have yet to hear anything under $500 dollars that sounds better (STU!!!!!lol) Look around for one, they can be had for $200 or under and are worth every penny. Google the make a model and check out the reviews. |
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New member Username: ZipidachimpSurrey, B.c. Canada Post Number: 1 Registered: Apr-07 | my sony cd player crapped out, I'm looking to replace it with a yamaha S5950, through my yamaha receiver(2 channel). why? no one makes single cd players anymore below $300.00 the yamaha has all the latest bells and at least one whistle for $149.00 the reason I'm willing to risk this is because I tried playing cds on my wife's samsung dvd player and they sounded better than through the sony into my paradigm atoms. for the record, I grew up with dynaco units. |
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Bronze Member Username: LeonskiPost Number: 82 Registered: Jan-07 | Just got the '981, today, less than 48 hours after pulling the trigger. Packaging/shipping were first cabin. REAL nice video on my 60", non-XBR SXRD. BUT, just like anything else, you can't get more out than you put in. Marginal DVD's look no better than before. Good DVD's, including the Vintage flick 'Forbidden Planet' are terrific and noise free. Even the 60's classic, The Avengers (Patrick Macnee/Diana Rigg)looks better than the original broadcast with good detail and clearly cheesy sets. EEEEEURRPPPP Sound thru the Analogue outputs is quite good. The display can be dimmed or nearly shut off altogether. There are more options than I know what to do with on the setup pages (5 of 'em) so I will put that off for now and leave it in defaults, as long as sharpening and noise reduction are off. The supplied HDMI cable is of high quality and it also comes with a near-useless RCA pair and a yellow-ended Video cable. The directions/ manual repeat several times to use this cord/connection for setup/t-shooting only....and for Pete's sake, use the HDMI connection! I will experiment using the HDMI audio feature to loop the audio thru the TV, but right now I'm going to leave it alone...for at least a couple of weeks. So far, so good. |
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Bronze Member Username: DocutechPost Number: 18 Registered: Feb-07 | I have had the Oppo for a couple of months myself. It is a great player. No HD or Blue Ray PQ but it will suffice for now. Great audio quality as well. I have the Brothers in Arms SACD by Dire Straits and the playback is very good. I was a bit annoyed when I saw the bright blue surround on the eject button but after RTFM I realized that it can be dimmed or turned off. I, too, highly recommend this player! |
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Silver Member Username: Uback007Columbus , Ohio USA Post Number: 261 Registered: Mar-06 | how does it compare in sound-( 2 channel audio)-to the Cambridge Audio 540D player. |
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Bronze Member Username: LeonskiPost Number: 85 Registered: Jan-07 | I have no experience w/current CD players, or other higher end universal players. Current wisdom says that the universal players are only so-so or a little better on audio only sources. My last CD only player was also my first....a now museum quality Magnavox (made in Holland by guess who?) FD1000, an original 14 bit top-loader. This player was thought of highly enough to be the core of several hi-end players of the time.....either the Mission or Madrigal.....got CRS. That being said....go find one and have a listen. See if they'll do a 'loaner' for a home audition. That seems to be the only way to tell. Current wisdom also says to get a player that is 'broken in'...whatever that really means, as the sound changes, usually for the better in the first 100 hours of play. (your) System synergy and room accoustics plays a huge role in what will or won't sound good to you. |
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Bronze Member Username: GrinsatlakeMt. Juliet, TN USA Post Number: 19 Registered: Mar-07 | Leo: I owned the older Oppo and on video it was very good, so I gave it to my daughter and son-in law and they loved it for dvd's. I am picky so I bought a Denon DVD2930Ci and on video it seems no better except it has hdmi to hdmi (oppo did not) and the cd sound is ok BUT to me not very musical. I just could not get happy or comfortable with one audio/video set up and this is the second time I have tried to do this BUT I have bitten the bullet and gone back to a separate 2 channel set up. I am so much happier because I am 80% music and 20%video. I bought some used speakers and an integrated amp on audiogon and ebay and a new Rega Apollo and I am once again in love with music. I have the Sony 46" LCD XBR3 and on HD it blows me away. Maybe someday I can get a video/audio system for movies that really satisfies me but I have heard 100K systems that I thought were only slightly better than my small home system. Enjoy your experiences. This is a great format for communicating. Enjoy. Rick Grinstead |
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Silver Member Username: Uback007Columbus , Ohio USA Post Number: 262 Registered: Mar-06 | Rick, I agree totally. I just bought the Apollo cd player and am blown away by the sound that thing puts out. Spend some extra money and get some Kimber Silver Streak interconnects- these are the most amazing for the money about $175 for a 1 meter set and hooked up to the Apollo- I guarantee you will be blown away with the sound. I have a modest system consisting of the Apollo paired with a Cambridge Audio integrated and Era 5 speakers. The Silver Streaks are the icing on the cake! Try 'em -they're worth every penny |
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Silver Member Username: Alright_boyPost Number: 210 Registered: Jan-07 | Sound is acceptable, but not audiophile quality. Would not meet my standards for primary CD only listening source. But I am especially picky about audio reproduction. |
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Gold Member Username: NuckPost Number: 7097 Registered: Dec-04 | Working within a set budget is never easy, tradeoffs are the name of the game. If you can get 1.3 out of 3, and keep your budget, you have shopped well. The Denon dv3400 can, and does do everything well. for 3k$. Yowsa! |
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Bronze Member Username: LeonskiPost Number: 91 Registered: Jan-07 | Jeez, Nuck, for 3k, you can have that New Outlaw Amp.........just think! |
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Bronze Member Username: LeonskiPost Number: 98 Registered: Jan-07 | Westcott:: Secrets has Evaluated the 981 and given it favorable reviews. Please have a look if you spot this post and let us know what you think! ........................................ |
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Silver Member Username: WestcottLeague City, Texas Post Number: 272 Registered: Oct-05 | Leo, I have seen the post and Oppo Digital has done it again. It gets great performance reviews for its video and is a steal at its price point. It does not support component output at all, but to make it as inexpensive as they have, this is a fair compromise for most of us. I would love to hear more on its audio performance via SACD and DVD Audio and what DACs they are using. Thanks for the heads up Leo. |
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Silver Member Username: LeonskiPost Number: 102 Registered: Jan-07 | A few reviews of various equipment have noted that the 'remote is not lit' and drop it. Well, a few nites ago at 0-dark:30, I headed for the Kitchen for a bit of water.....LO AND BEHOLD..... The OPPO's remote is a glow-in-the-dark unit! Don't that beat all? Has anyone else noticed that? This is not a joke! |
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Silver Member Username: Alright_boyPost Number: 269 Registered: Jan-07 | Yes it glows in the dark. In my experience, when reviewers say it is not lit, they frequently mean it doesn't have a (back)light with on-off switch. But their language could be clearer. |
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Silver Member Username: LeonskiPost Number: 104 Registered: Jan-07 | I agree, No backlight is frequently noted in equipment reviews. I have never heard mention, however, of any with a glow-in-the-dark feature. not to say others are not out there..... I don't think it is a feature of much real use. My non-XBR SXRD is really bright and I have installed a 'wall relief' daylight color balance 40watt backlight...eye strain, you know! That's why I never noticed the 'glow' and I dare say, nobody else has, either. Did you notice the Microwave settings on 'Snakes On A Plane'?? Just seeing how observent everyone is! thanks....................... |
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Silver Member Username: Alright_boyPost Number: 273 Registered: Jan-07 | Man, you're sharp!!! |
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Silver Member Username: LeonskiPost Number: 111 Registered: Jan-07 | Jim Bob, I'm really surprised that yours is the ONLY answer I got. In a hobby where clearly, the details matter, NOBODY else seems to have seen this! And in such a classicly good/bad movie, too! Did anyone hear the NON-Mayan dialogue in Apocolypto? I could have sworn I heard some Spanish go by! |
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Gold Member Username: NuckPost Number: 7649 Registered: Dec-04 | No comprende. No habla the yabbida yabbida. |
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Silver Member Username: LeonskiPost Number: 115 Registered: Jan-07 | Nuck, Here in SoCal, the correct verbage is 'No Compresser'....... I just tossed in a couple throw away trivia Q's.... I love movie trivia.... like....'who was Rondo Hatten?' Extra points for having seen his LAST movie! cheers: |
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Gold Member Username: NuckPost Number: 7658 Registered: Dec-04 | Cheers Leo, but the place for the trivia is in OT. |